71 With guidance from HKUST’s Entrepreneurship Center, the Breer team studied everything from supply chains to funding, and worked with a local brewery to create their first batch of beer. Then, they put the business spreadsheet to one side and focused on perfecting the brew. It wasn’t long before Breer’s beer became a huge hit. “Sustainability” is a term bandied about by many companies and organizations, but Anushka didn’t just want to talk the talk, she also wanted to walk the walk. Her idea for Breer had to have a measurable impact — and it had to be a product people wanted. Her vision was to create a food upcycling social enterprise, and she did just that. Anushka estimates that since Breer started in 2021, over 8,000 kilograms of edible bread destined for landfills has been reclaimed! Their pale ale is now being stocked by local discerning craft brew houses. It seems there’s no limit to Anushka’s aspirations; once she identifies a problem, she quickly thinks of how she can contribute to solving it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the talented polyglot (she speaks five languages, including Cantonese and Mandarin) has continued to go from strength to strength, all while delivering more innovative solutions for the people and small businesses of Hong Kong. This has been especially true for companies hit hard by COVID-19. Anushka’s next venture, StayK, is a platform designed to simplify staycation bookings for hidden local destinations. These are often run by small local operators who don’t have the networks or tech knowhow of big players. On the healthcare front, she has also applied her HKUSTdegree expertise to CoronAI, a system designed for real-time remote medical screening to reduce doctorpatient physical interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anushka lives by two philosophies: always think outside the box, and do what you love. Her advice to her HKUST peers? “Try everything, and always be ‘MAD’ — making a difference!” As she says, that’s how we’ll change the world.
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